Portuguese limestones are quite popular and have high demand worldwide, mostly for beige colored limestones. On this article, we will present the top 3 limestone at the moment in Portugal, with podcasts!
Moleanos, Moca Cream and Fatima are today the most relevant Portuguese light colored limestones available in the market. We consider these the top 3 limestones in Portugal because of their reputation, considerable volume and reference projects they have supplied in the past several years. If the Moleanos is perhaps the most well-known Portuguese limestone, the Moca Cream became the most sold in terms volume, while the Fatima has reached similar levels of export mostly via blocks to China. In any case, we are talking about 3 very relevant limestone not just in Portugal but worldwide.
Moca Cream limestone
The Moca Cream is a beige colored limestone from Portugal that has gained a considerable reputation in the past years, and is today a reference beige limestone in the industry.
This is a fairly uniform type of limestone, presenting a consistent beige color and darker brown grain. But what makes this limestone so unique is its parallel vein that runs along its surface. The Moca Cream variations may present fine to medium or thick grain, as well as variations in terms of vein orientation, which can be fairly straight and parallel, or show a more irregular vein.
All these variations can also be supplied with a cross-cut orientation, meaning that it shows no vein, but instead clouded areas. Although with less demand, this is an option in terms of supply.
Moleanos limestone
The Moleanos is a Portuguese limestone that is extracted by a dozen quarries located in the area around the village with the same name as the limestone: Moleanos. Moleanos lies at the footsteps of Serra Aires e Candeeiros Natural Park, the most important limestone extraction centre of Portugal.
The Moleanos limestone has a light beige color, presenting fine to medium grain and a very uniform background. It is the color consistency of this limestone that in fact made it so popular. Its main variations depend on grain structure (which can be fine or medium), as well as color (with beige as the most representative variation, but a blue to light grey colored variation also available and with growing demand). Finally, the Moleanos may present a mixed color variation, called the Moleanos Mix, blending beige and blue in the same stone.
Fatima limestone
Fatima is one of the hottest limestones in Portugal at the moment, which has seen an incredible growth in demand in the past few years. It is today one of the most relevant export-oriented limestones in the country.
This is a white colored limestone, tending towards light beige, showing fine to medium grain and quite uniform background. It presents a very uniform structure, but some occasional thin calcite lines and some darker brown spots. The Fatima is today one of the most uniform limestones in Portugal.
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